Tobacco drying, cooling, and ordering machine.



No. 693,387. Patented Feb. la, 4|902.

J. D. 600mm. l TOBACCO DRY-ING, GGOLING, AND DRDERING MACHINE.

(No Model.) 3 Sheets-Sheet ,L

w P e l wirf?" I am No'.'693,387. l Patented Feb. I8, |902.

D. Geunwm; `TUBACGO DRYING, cooLlNG, AND ORDERING MACHINE.

i Application fixed :une 11s,l 1901,.) No Model.) 3 ShtNBS--Shet` 2.

30175766565.' l l@ am 'rus NuRms PETERS co. PHo'raLlTna., wAsHmoTo/e. n. c,

UNITED STATI-2s PATENT OFFICE.

JAMES D. GOODWINOF RICHMOND, VIRGINIA, ASSIGNOR TO THE CARD- WELL vMACHINE COMPANY, OF RICHMOND, VIRGINIA, A CORPORATION lor VIRGINIA. y

TOBACCO DFIYINGJ COOLING, AND ORDERING MACHINE.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 693,387, dated February 18, 1902;

Application filed June l5, 1901. Serial No. 64,732. (No model.)

To all wiz/m it may concern:

Be it known that I, JAMES D. GOODWIN, of Richmond, in the county of Henrico, State of Virginia, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Tobacco Drying, Cooling, and Ordering Machines; and I do hereby declare the following to be a full, clear, and exact description of the same, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, formro' ing a part of this specification, and to the letters of reference marked thereon. Y This invention relates to improvements in that class of machinery employed in the preparation of tobacco preliminary to the proc- I5 esses of manufacture orprior to being packed and stored for future utilization.

Tobacco prior to being packed for storage or, preliminary to the various processes of manufacture should be reduced to a uniform moist zo and warm condition, and the machines for '3e been found necessary.

A further object of the invention isto provide a machine adapted to work at a maximum efficiency regardless of the particular temperature or humidity of the atmosphere existing at the time.

Referring to the accompanying drawings, Figures l and l are sectionalv elevations of the two ends of a drying, cooling, and ordering machine embodying the present improve- 4o ments.

themachine illustrated in Figs. l and la with the top of the casing and conveyer removed. Fig. 3 is a section on the line a; Fig. 2f. Fig. 4 is an end elevation looking at the entrance or right-hand end, Fig. l. Fig. 5 is a detail elevation of the feed-piece for the atomizing mechanism.

Like letters of reference in the several figures indicate the same parts. y

Figs. 2 and 2 are top plan views ofl The body of the machine'is formed Vby a 5o -long casing A, preferably substantially rectangular in cross-section and suitably bracedy at proper intervals by framing, as A.- The walls of the casing are of single thickness-A that is to say, without air passages or ducts 55 therein for the circulation of air in the process of drying, cooling, and ordering, andhence may be and are conveniently provided with doors B, windows B', and hand-holes or openings B?, through which the tobacco may be 6c inspected and tested and the temperature and humidity observed at any point in the process. The doors and hand-holes may be conveniently employed as vent-apertures or for the admission of fresh air from the exterior in addition to-the regular venting and admission apertures, to' be hereinafter described. y The casing-or body A is divided off into compartments or sections, as in other Inachines of this type, and such compartments 7o are termed the drying,' cooling, and orderingv compartments, the partitions dividing the casing into the compartments Vmentioned being indicated by the letters C and C'. The tobacco is carried through the several compartments by a continuous conveyer or,v

as illustrated in Fig. 2 of the drawings, there- 85 bypermitting the belt to'occupy the full width of the-casing, and said rollers are so arranged that the belt will bear on each of them with a substantially uniform pressure,

whereby said rollers are caused to turn or ro- 9o tate and prevent frictionagainst the body of the belt in order to prevent, so far as possible,` any wear of thestrands constituting the belt. The uniform pressure referred to is preferably obtained by causing the belt to travel i a crowning or curved path, as will be seen from an inspection of Figs. l and la, where the rollers located 'at ythe central portion of the casing are somewhat higher than those at each end. t If desired, said belt may be further guided by side strips l)2 in order to prevent the tobacco from working in between the edges of the belt and side walls of the casing.

The belt or eonveycr D is of foraminous material, preferably wire-netting, and in the various steps of the process air is caused to travel through said belt and the tobacco carried thereby in each direction. Thus in the drying-compartment, which is the first compartment thetobacco enters and illustrated in Fig. l, air is forced in through the duct E from a blower F, Fig. 2, and is discharged transversely from the duct throughout the whole width of the compartment, said air then passing up through the belt and tobacco carried thereby into the top of the compartment, from which portion of the compartment a certain proportion is allowed to escape through the vent-pipes G G, one or the other, or both, of which may be opened more or less, so as to regulate to a certain extent through which portion of the compartment the greatest draft shall take place; but said vent ducts are kept sufficiently closed to maintain a pressure in the whole compartment. Near the inner end of the dryingcompartment exhaust-pipes H lead from below the belt to the heating-chamber I, communicating with the blower F, and thus the said heating-chamber and blower receive a large proportion of the air from the dryingchamber itself. The air passing from the casing to the heating-chamber is 'caused to pass downwardly through the tobacco and belt by reason of a partition K, located below the belt and between the entrance-duct E and discharge-pipes H, although, if desired, other pipes H may be located above the pipes II and belt and also communicate with the chamber I for drawing off a portion of the heated air from above the belt. Fresh air may be taken to the heating-chamber I by means of the fresh-air induction-opening, having doors I and located at the end of the heating-chamber, and the heat is preferably supplied by a steam-coil l2, located in the chamber I and receiving steam from the engine-exhaust or from a suitable boiler, as desired. By this arrangement, wherein a large lproportion of the air supplied to the blower is taken from the drying-compartment itself, not only is a material saving of fuel effected by the preliminary heating of the fresh air due to the commingling of the heated air therewith, but the temperature may be maiutained higher than wouldotherwise be practicable without the use of high-pressure steam.

To secure an effective distribution of the air forced into the drying compartment through the duct E, the sides of said duct are preferably formed by doors or Vanes E', hinged at the upper edge and adapted to be opened more or less, so as to deflect the air toward the bottom of the compartment and cause the same to spread out beneath the belt and pass thence in a uniform current up through the tobacco without exerting any appreciable lifting effect thereon, such as might disturb its position on the belt or cause the formation of openings through which too great a proportion of the air might travel to the detriment of the drying effect on the remaining portions.

In the forward travel of the belt the tobacco is carried through the cooling-compartment, wherein the heat imparted to the tobacco in the drying-compartment is extracted, and this cooling-compartment may be of short length; but the arrangement is prefer ably such thata relatively large volume of air is carried through the compartment and through the belt and tobacco lying thereon. For this purpose a horizontal fanLislocated, preferably, in the top of the compartment, and openings in the walls of the casing A above and below the belt are provided, preferably, in a direct line with the fan for the escape and admission of air, and the fan itself may be rotated, so as to move the air either upwardly or downwardly through the tobacco, as desired, although for different grades of tobacco it is desirable to drive the air in different directionsthat is to say, for very light and fine tobacco the air should be driven downwardly in order to prevent the raising or lifting of the tobacco away from the belt,

whereas with heavier tobacco the air should be driven upwardly in order to loosen up the tobacco and permit the air to penetrate every portion of the same in its passage through this compartment.

The two compartments thus far describednamely, the drying and cooling compartments-are compartments wherein the tobacco has practically all of the moisture extracted therefrom, and being as a consequence in au exceedingly dry state it is very liable to catch ire from any sparks created by the friction of the belt or through spon taneous combustion or electrical action, and

' although a fire of this character will not assume serious proportions if observed and eX- tinguished immediately nevertheless in apparatus as heretofore made it has been found practically impossible to observe the initial blaze or smoking of the tobacco or to get at and extinguish the same because of the double side walls. With a view to permitting the operators, who are always in place at the end of the machine during the time the machine is being run, to keep the tobacco before it reaches the damp ordering-section always under observation I now locate in the end wall of the casing a window M, suitably glazed, and in the partition C between the drying and cooling compartments a correspending window Ivlf, and if other partitions are located at any point in the line of observation from one end of the machine through to the farther side of the cooling-compartment corresponding windows are located in said ICO IOS

IIO

partitions. Withvthis construction the op erators standing at the feeding end of the* machine have an uninterrupted view through' allof the compartments where re is at all likely to originate, and should such iire origi# nate at any time it may be quickly and easily extinguished by means of a hand-hose through one of the side doors, windows, or hand-holes. There being no lines in the side wallsof the casing, there is no chance of the lire spreading to any hidden locality or working into inaccessible places 'about the machine.

Fromthe cooling-compartment the tobacco is carried by the belt into the Aordering-compartment-that is to say, 'a compartment wherein the tobacco is heated and moistened uniformly before being discharged from the machine ready to be packed or to be subjected to further-processes of manufacture. In the present apparatus this orderingcompartment is provided with air-circulatin g 'fans operating to draw the air from that portion of the comf s partment below thebelt up through-the belt located between the two subpartitions'O and' O. The fans bein rotated causes a circulation ofthe air upwardly on the outside of the subpartitions O O' and downwardly in the space between saidpartitio'ns, and during the running of the machine this circulation is maintained constantly and the air'in the compartment is moistened orv humidified to a sufficient degree to impart the necessary moisture to thetobacco carried by'therbelt. The moisture is supplied to the air in this compart-l ment, preferably, by'perforated spray oratomizng pipes P and P', leading in through the side Walls of thecom'partment and ada-pt-y ed to discharge steam'and water, which steam and Water is admitted to'said pipes in proper proportions by meansof stop-cocks P2lo',

cated in a convenient position with relation to the casing and arranged, pr'e'ferably,as shown inlliig.v 5. In this figure, P3 indicates a water-pipe, and P4L a steam-pipe.l These pipes are branched and communicate with the'atomizing-pipes P and P', the branchesv p3 of the water-pipe discharging at a point well within the :pipes P P', the arrangement operating very much in the manner of an injector, thereby preventing any back pressure in the water-pipes and insuring avthorough atomization of the water prior to its discharge into the ordering-compartment; The bottom of this ordering-compartment is preferably in the form of a pan `or tank Q, in'which any drippings will be caught and may be conductv ed from the machine, and said compartment is also preferably provided with heating-coilsY compartment;

R for steam, wherebythe temperature of the compartment may be .raised or maintained,

be provided with an escape =or vent duct S,

' located at the top, and to changevtheair erably formed'of fabric and suspended from the partitions and end walls of the casing, so as to rest lightly upon the'belt or tobacco car*- ried thereby, and the passage of air into the heating-chamber-I through the pipes H' andH may be conveniently controlled by slide-gates h and h,"respectively,'which are adaptedjtoentirely closeor permit any' of v said pipes to be opened at'will, Oil-drip pans-W are located below each fanshaft to catch'any drip from the bearings and conduct the same away from. the conveyer.l

l In operation the Vtobacco is `placedimxthe belt D adjacent the roller dy at theentrance end of the machine and passes, successively IOO through the dryingcompartment,the cooling compartment,and the ordering-compartment, being dischargedover the roller d'. In "its passage 4throii gh theV drying-c'o'mpa'rtment'itk is subjected to the action of heated airdriven in by the blower F through the duct E and forced from below the belt np through the tobacco to Aa pointabove'thef-belt, wherea; proportion of it maybe Withdrawn through; the exhaust-.ducts G or G' `-and the remaining portion forced back dwn through the belt andtobacco and dischargedl bythe pipes-,H vinto theheating'fchamber Lf'serving to ternpertlie fresh air admitted by the opening ofthe doors I' and' being carried'with saidaii through the` heating-'coils and again forced into the drying# chamberby the blower.y By the proper reg' ulation of the dampers theair inthe drying; chamber may be maintained under pressure.

, andbeing heated to a highdegre'e will serve to extract practically all of the'moistuie f ro m As the tobacco leavesthedrythe tobacco. e ing-compartment itis subjected tov` the second action of the heated air,which1passesdown through the belt and' tobacco on its'wayfto` the heating-chamber. In the cooling-"compartment the tobacco is subjected to a relatively slow-moving but large volume of air `atthe temperature ot' the external atmosphere,whereby the tobacco'is cooled and made ready to receive themoistu re in theordering- In the latter 'compartment the humid air is caused 'to pass throughithe belt and tobacco a number off times, eachvporl IIO tion of the tobacco being subjected to practically a constant current of moisture-laden air throughout the whole of the time it is within the ordering-compartment, whereby the moisture is caused to penetrate every portion of the tobacco, and the tobacco is discharged in a thoroughly uniform, moist, and well-ordered condition.

By reason of the small number of fans and other moving parts it is found that little power is required to opera-te the machine, and at the same time a greater quantity of tobacco may be handled and more uniformly treated than with prior machines of this character.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim as new, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is-- l. Inatobacco-handlingapparatus,the combination with a casing divided into drying, cooling and ordering sections, and a foraminous conveyer traveling through said sections successively for conveying tobacco therethrough, of an independent heating-chamber opening into the casing at independent points below the conveyer, a blower for maintaining a circulation of air through the chamberand casing, a regulated vent-opening in the casing above the conveyer, a regulated fresh-air-iuduction opening in the heating-chamber and a partition in the casing below the conveyer' and between the openings connecting the casing with the heating-chamber, whereby the airis caused to pass through the conveyer and tobacco carried therebyin oppositedirections in its circulation through the casing and heating-chamber; substantially as described.

2. Inatobacco-handlingapparatus,the combination with a casing divided into drying, cooling and ordering sections and a foraminous conveyer traveling through said sections successively for conveying the tobacco therethrough, of an independent heatingchamber, a duct leading from said chamber to the casing on one side of the conveyer, a blower for forcing the air from said chamber through said duct, ducts having regulatingvalves leading from the casing on both sides of the conveyer to the heating-chamber, a partition between the duct leading into the casing and the duct leading from said casing on the same side of the conveyer, a regulated venting-aperture in the casing and a regulated fresh-air-induction aperture for supplying fresh air to the heating-chamber; substantially as described.

3. Inatobacco-handlingapparatus,thecornbination with a casing divided into drying, cooling and ordering sections a foraminous conveyer traveling through said sections successively for conveying the tobacco therethrough, fans for maintaining a circulation through the conveyer and tobacco carried thereby in the cooling and ordering sections and a moisture-supplying mechanism in the ordering-section,ot' a heating-chamber, a duct leading therefrom to the drying-section below the conveyer, a blower for forcing thc air from the heating-chamber through said d uct,a duct leading from the casing below the c011- veyertotheheating-chau1ber,apartitionin the casin g below the conveyerbetween said d uct-s, a fresh-air-induction opening and doors for regulating the same in the heating-chamber and venting-ducts in the casing above the conveyer near opposite ends ofthe section and valves for regulating said ducts; substantially as described.

4. In a tobacco-handling apparatus, the combination with the casing divided into drying, cooling and ordering sections, a foraminous conveyer traveling through said sections and means for maintaining a circulation of air in the drying and cooling sections, of subpartitions in the ordering-section having openings at top and bottom ot' the same and through which subpartitions the conveyer passes, and

vwhereby the ordering-section is divided into subsections, means for maintaining a circulation of air in said subsections through the conveyer in opposite directions and a moisture-supplying mechanism in said orderingsection; substantially as described.

5. In a tobacco-handling apparatus, the combination with the casing divided into drying, cooling and ordering sections, a foraminous conveyer traveling through said sections and means for maintaining a circulation of air in the drying and cooling sections, ot subpartitions in the ordering-section having openings at top and bottom of the saine and through which subpartitions the conveyer travels and whereby t-he ordering-section is divided into subsections, air-forcing mechanism for maintaining air-circulation through the conveyer in the central subsection in one direction and through the conveyer' in the .end subsections in the opposite direction, and a moisture-supplying mechanism in the ordering-section below the conveyer; substantially as described.

t3. In a tobacco-handling apparatus,the combination with the casing divided into drying, cooling and ordering sections, a foraminous conveyer traveling in said sections and means for maintaining a circulation of air in the drying and cooling sections, of subpartitions in the ordering-section having openings at top and bottom ot' the same and through which subpartitions the conveyertravels and whereby the ordering-section is divided into subsections, fans located in the end subsections and both operating to force the air into the central subsection on the same side of the conveyer whereby the air is caused to pass through the conveyer in one direction in the end subsections and in the opposite direction in the central subsection, and a moisture-supplying apparatus in the ordering-section below the conveyer; substantially as described.

7. In a tobacco-handling apparatus,the combination with the casing divided into drying, cooling and ordering sections independent means for maintaining a circulation of air in cach of said sections and a foraminous con veyer traveling through said sections succes- IOO IIO

sively for carrying tobacco therethrough, of a l in said pipes, whereby back pressure is premoisture-supplying apparatus for the order- Vented and a full Water-supply for atomiza- 1o ing-section embodying atomizng-pipes in the tion insured; substantially as described.

section below the' conveyer steam-pipe conl v Vnections with said atomiZing-pipes for sup- JAMES D' GOODWIN' plying steam thereto and Water-pipes extend- Witnesses: ing into said steam-pipe Connections and dis- ALEXANDER S.'STEUART,

charging in the direction of travel of steam THOMAS DURANT. 

